Gotham: S3E14: “The Gentle Art of Making Enemies”

Published on January 31, 2017, by Murjani Rawls - Posted in Television0

8.2Overall Score

Storyline:8/10

Characters:8/10

The winter finale (again, so soon) is almost prophetic. It was a mix of themes that comic book fans that were familiar with in the Batman ethos, but damn did it feel good to see them play out on screen. The Jerome vs Bruce dynamic played out like a younger Batman vs. Joker. Jerome goes full on Joker character – from the carnival to the small little Joker ticks, Cameron Monaghan‘s portrayal of this incarnation has been stellar. Bruce Wayne was also involved in what was the main story line. The show itself has been careful in interjecting Bruce way too soon and has done a nice job in gradually building Bruce up to this point.

The interaction at the end of the episode between Alfred and Bruce are the obvious seeds leading to the Batman character. Batman has principles and they take root here. I’m fine with Alfred taking on the role of the mentor training Bruce early on. He’s been the natural foundation and acting parent to which Bruce has some continuity.

There were a lot of layers to the battle with Gotham. There’s a new undercurrent with the Court of Owls overseeing what looked like the “burning of Rome” as Jerome’s minions taking over. Giving Gordon and the GCPD a chance to rein it in was a way to introduce Jim’s uncle. (How many of Jim’s relatives are affiliated with the Court?) Who knew that Jim Gordon was also a chess piece for the Court to move around in addition to clone Bruce making his return?

The ending to the Oswald and Edward story line took a soap opera-like turn where you actually started to feel bad for Oswald. You can tell that Edward was contemplating his sincerity. Like the first episode of the series, Oswald makes his return to the docks. So, who gets control of Gotham now that Oswald is gone, presumably for a little while? How is Barbara, Tabitha, and Butch going to divide the spoils?

Maybe this is the last we see of Jerome for a while and that’s ok. The episode did a great job in sowing future seeds. Edward is finally ready to dive into his alter ego and will prove difficult along with the Court for Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne and Alfred.